Supporting family meal frequency: Screening Phase results from the Simply Dinner Study

Area of Science:

• Public Health and Nutrition Intervention
• Behavioral Science and Randomized Trials
• Family and Community Health

Background:

• Optimizing multi-component interventions is crucial for improving family meal frequency and dietary quality.
• Previous research highlights the need for feasible and effective strategies to support healthy eating habits in families.
• The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) provides a framework for systematically evaluating intervention components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the main, additive, and interactive effects of six intervention components on family meal frequency and preschoolers' dietary quality.
• To assess the feasibility of various combinations of intervention components.
• To identify promising intervention bundles for improving family nutrition and meal preparation.

Main Methods:

• A randomized factorial trial design was employed within the MOST framework to test all possible combinations of six intervention components.
• Participants (n=499) from Head Start agencies completed parent-reported surveys on socio-demographics, meal patterns, dietary intake, and barriers.
• Feasibility was assessed through attendance, delivery logs, and satisfaction surveys; effect sizes were evaluated for pre-to post-intervention changes.

Main Results:

• The combination of Cooking/Serving Resources and Meal Delivery significantly increased family meal frequency, home cooking, and kitchen inventory adequacy.
• This bundle also decreased the consumption of ready-made and fast foods, with negligible effects on overall diet quality.
• Community Kitchen, Nutrition Education, and Cooking Demonstration components showed poor feasibility; Ingredient Delivery was infeasible due to labor intensity.

Conclusions:

• The combination of Cooking/Serving Resources and Meal Delivery emerged as a promising intervention strategy for increasing family meal frequency.
• This bundle also demonstrated potential in reducing food insecurity, although not a primary outcome.
• Feasibility varied significantly across intervention components, underscoring the importance of careful selection and resource allocation in intervention design.